Blue Jean Baby Queen

A long time ago, in a land far, far away, I bought some recycled denim from a friend who'd had it in her spinning stash.  Its cotton and I have never had much success spinning cotton.  Until now, that is!

In learning how to adjust the drive band and tension properly on my wheel, I've now opened the door to spinning cotton. Something that just tickles my heart to death! I feel so proud of myself!

This stuff is so pretty and makes such a cool looking yarn that I believe I could even sell it, just on the granola factor alone! Its got nubs of blue and white and gray and feels really soft.  And what a great way to re-purpose!

After conquering this blue denim, I got out my very old bag of camel colored cotton, gave it a whirl and, Lo and Behold, I did it again!

It goes very slowly, but that doesn't discourage me a bit.  You see, I have tried and tried to spin this stuff on my newly acquire charkha and even on my tahkli spindle.  No bueno.  So when I found success with my beautiful Kromski, I was charmed and delighted.  Great experience!

Now if you're wondering what happened to my cardigan, I will tell you something that will shock the pants off of you.  I had to rip out some of the shoulder work.  I know, close your mouth.  You can't believe I hit a snag.  But I did and was not going to be slowed down.  I frogged the sections that needed changes and re-knit them within 24 hours.

The mistakes were in the pattern, but they just as easily could have been my mistakes, I've made so many!  Either way, I'm back on track and knitting the last section before construction and button band phase.  Woo hoo!

In the latter part of the week, I had the chance to visit with a dear friend, the wife of my husband's writing partner.  My husband is a songwriter, and we live in the Nashville area, so its not uncommon for writing sessions to occur, at least in my world.

So I tagged along with my hubby Thursday to have a cup of coffee with my friend, and look at what she'd made!  It was the most delicious cranberry anything I've ever had.  This was a cobbler/pie with nuts and oats and brown sugar.  Uh-mazing!

She keeps her plants indoors during the winter and I just had to snap a photo of her "conservatory". 

Later we took a walk by the railroad tracks near her house.  She and her husband have been walking down this little lane for years and I can't believe I've never walked it with her.  It was very cool and the walk was brisk, but really invigorating.  I love cool weather, so long as its not wet!

I talked to another friend this week and we spent a good bit of time talking about food and healthy food in particular.  She's very knowledgeable.  It really inspired me as I was grocery shopping yesterday and we had a wonderful meal, including some roasted acorn squash that I made like french fries.  I baked them in strips with a little oil, sea salt and Chinese Five Spice.

I got two thumbs up from the guys in the house and have now decided to plant a whole lot of acorn squash in my new vegetable garden.  Today I'm planning to go buy my garden seeds and dream of the summer.  Want to come along?

Barney Pillow

After knitting this cable pattern pillow a long, long time ago, I'm finally getting around to finishing it.  Its been in a bag stashed away in all my knitting stuff and today it just cried out to me, "Hey you, what about me?"

• I blocked the pillow front,  
• grabbed some fabric and the pillow form, 
• sewed up the sides and 
• went to work sewing the knitted portion to the covered pillow. 

It was helped along a great deal by a new method of time management I heard about recently.  Its called Pomodoro and the idea is basically timing your tasks, a little at a time.  So I downloaded a timer for my desktop and went to work, 25 minutes at a time until the thing had been completed.

I also worked in the garden, had lunch, and did some stuff in the garage, aside from daily chores.  What a great idea!  Don't get bogged down with a task that eats up your time.  Set a goal and stick to it.  Stop and change what you're doing, then come back later with fresh eyes and determination to knock out the task!

It seems like this was such a breeze, and I have another one somewhere that needs to be finished.  I guess I will go-a-huntin' for it tonight, and maybe knock it out this week.  Technically this could never be called a UFO (Unfinished object) because the knitting was finished, but the sewing was another story.

I did some shopping with my daughter and daughter in law this weekend, and bought something I've been wanting for a while.  I don't know why they were able to help me find this little guy, when I have been to store after store with not luck whatsoever.

I am so practical and the eyeglass case I've been using is much like the one at the top of the picture.  Boring, utilitarian and bland. I'm so thankful for young women in my life that keep me young and help me see things I might not have noticed otherwise. We all agreed that while the new case isn't glam or showy, its pretty and classy.  I love it!

Climbing Mt. Cardigan

As we begin the month of February, I am thrilled happy to say that I am well on my way to making my first real, true, basic, run-of-the-mill cardigan.  The Mr. Rogers kind that has no real shaping, darts, contours or otherwise figure enhancing tendencies.  Just a plain old sweater.  I love it!  Its like I've finally come home to my little cottage by the sea.  Okay, not really, but I'm super excited to finally cross over the threshold like when I learned to knit socks.

To this day, I can pretty much pick up yarn and needles and make socks without a pattern.  I think I will soon be able to do that with sweaters.  Its so important to know the fundamentals of a thing before trying to conquer the intricacies.  We learn to ride a bike on three wheels, then training wheels.  We have to overcome the momentum thing before we can go on to balance.  With knitting, there are lots of things to learn after the initial how to knit, how to purl part.  Spinning its a little more tricky, but similar where the learning curve is - and a lot like learning to ride a bike. 

Back to the cardigan.  I do not claim to be an expert now, but I'm not a novice either. I want you to know that I've made pullovers before.  I started with a raglan sleeve pullover that I blogged about recently when I re-knit the hem and sleeves. And I made a short sleeve angora pullover that was to die for, until I put it one time and my husband asked if I was going to wear that to church.  I also made a short sleeve pullover with set in sleeves that I pressed, never wore and eventually threw away. No kidding. I've also made a fair isle pullover which was also quite beautiful, but like the curse of the love sweater, it was not to be worn in public.  You get the idea. 

I do hope this blue Mr. Rogers number is fit for public viewing, but I make no promises.  My goal was not to make that kind of sweater, but rather to climb Mt. Cardigan.  I'm at least half way there! 

I finished plying and hanked the beautiful red blend yarn.  Its pretty soft and will make a great ____________(you fill in the blank, I'm open).

I have begun to spin some camel down on my new Turkish spindle.  I love this thing.  Its light but has enough weight to keep the spin going once you give it a whirl.  The camel is literally as soft as a baby chick.  Love, love, love it!

On Saturday, our family is all going to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Sunday is of course the Super Bowl. I'm not really rooting for either team that's playing, but since we have a decent TV now, I will be watching and cheering for the San Francisco Patriots.

Practical wisdom

Raising kids often requires you to impart some wisdom to your children that is more practical, more "Been there, done that" kind of know-how that no book can ever give.
For instance, you can tell a child not to touch something if its hot or sharp.  You can tell a child to be careful with something fragile.  You can tell a child not to put something in their mouth, for obvious reasons to me and you.  But sometimes when we're older, and wiser, we've learned a few other things, mostly because we had to learn the hard way, that we need to teach to the younger generation.  Things like who you can trust, how far is too far, how not to appear too needy (or trashy if you're a girl!).  These things are so delicate and gray-area-ish that they're somewhat hard to explain.  But we try because we've been there and don't want to do that again!

I have a regular habit of sitting down to watch television at night with my knitting.  Its usually after dinner and only for an hour or so, but its a very relaxing time for me.  However, I've gotten a little snobbish with my television choices.  Again, this is a gray area, because what's not great for me might be awesome for you.  I won't even mention what I like and don't like on television, other than to say that I am a hands down fan of Downton Abbey.  For once, there's a show that depicts the importance of discretion, propriety and moderation.  Unlike most of what's out there, this show portrays how even the subtlest of remarks are weighty.  But you don't have to be cerebral to like this show.  In fact, I think it's appealing to lots of people, and it's very good at "teaching" the hard to explain points of wisdom.  Practical wisdom!

This week I've been learning to use my new Turkish spindle and it seems the best way to learn is from folks who've used one long enough to post a video tutorial online.  What a blessing!!  I learn best by watching others (don't you?) and I have to try it myself, right away.

I got it for half price at my LYS, using my birthday gift certificate!!  Woo hoo!  (I also finally got a WPI tool.)

This spindle is so different from the other two I own.  I have a small spindle for spinning cotton, but its just not fun to me.  I've tried it and chalked it up to experience.
I have a regular Ashford spindle that's kind of heavy and not one you can use with very short fibers.  Great for beginners!
But this Turkish delight is so easy to use, and has a specially engineered function for winding on as you spin to make a center pull ball by disengaging the two arms from the shaft.
Here I am using it this morning.  I just had my hair  done!

What's in a year?

homemade wreath from found items

My birthday was Saturday and my kids and their spouses cooked dinner for me Friday night. We had lasagne, salad and focaccia, all favorites.  Dessert was my all time favorite, Strawberry Shortcake!  I haven't had that in years, and its not hard to make, just hard to come by.  I had a wonderful night, and it was in fact the best birthday I've ever had.  We laughed and talked and just enjoyed each others' company.  

Earlier in the week I made myself some pajamas with fabric my mom gave me from her stash.  I found this ad in the local paper with exactly what I had envisioned, so that was my inspiration.

Pajama inspiration photo

pattern with newspaper alterations

top stitching the waistband

finished PJ's with drawstring

I've been spinning some red and cream Shetland wool with this note card as my color inspiration.  I'm trying to do the #spindown2012 challenge!

rose red

paisley notecard

And the cardigan is coming along great!  One sleeve is done and the second one is underway.  Easy to knit and I should have more than enough yarn for the entire project.  Woo hoo!!

watch out Mr. Rogers!

I guess its about time I came clean about some things, in particular my opinions.  I try not to ever talk politics or "religion" in this blog.  I want to share my knitting, spinning and other fiber-y pursuits here.  I am on FB and  Twitter so you can often find my personal biases there.

*deep breath*
I feel the same as everyone else regarding the upcoming election, but I feel the need to interject something here.  Our current president has another whole year to serve in office. There's another whole year of important decisions to be made, and demands on his ability.  He needs wisdom and we ought all to support him with our prayers if we call ourselves religious at all.  How can we not?  I would think it goes without saying, but I'm afraid it needs to be said.  Please, no matter how you feel about the coming election, please don't forget our duty to uphold the sitting president in our prayers! 
*whew, glad that's over*

Reaching Out

If we ever lose sight of our purpose, we have entered into a dark place.  My husband told me that yesterday was the most depressing day of the year, according to statistics.  What a bad thing, to know and anticipate something like that!  All day yesterday I made a concerted effort to not speak negatively.  I was surprised at how often I had to catch myself leaning into the negative side of things.  Politics, media, people, etc. but if I looked in the mirror, it all came back to me.  My outlook is extremely important in how I perceive the world to be!
We must try our best to look OUT and not IN.  Finding uplifting things around you is a learned habit, and takes a little effort, but it can be done!

I read a blog recently that mentioned betrayal, and it was ironic because I thought this person might be missing out on how much they may have betrayed others. The supposed betray-er may have been hurt and simply walked away out of frustration.  It's so easy to find fault with the behavior of others, pointing out their flaws and misdeeds. We do this without realizing how often we, ourselves are committing various acts of thoughtlessness.  A dismissive attitude, overlooking a valiant effort, or even forgetting to thank someone who picked up the pieces for us in a pinch - all things we do without ever giving it another thought.  Then we wonder why this person is aloof or distant.  Next time, before we are so quick to judge someone else, lets take a moment to check our own behavior first, and see if we don't need to do some "housekeeping" of our own!

Over the weekend, my daughter, daughter in law, and I drove to the coast to visit my relatives.

Moon shining on the bay,  first night!

Of course I planned to knit and read, but was having too much fun to go grab my needles & pattern.  We went window shopping, walked on the beach and even had a crafty- time, learning to make wreaths for the door!

Sunrise Day 2

Shopping with my folks - who never complained about how cold it was!

Check Mate!

My cousin prepared a wonderful meal on Sunday, from scratch,
We ate, watched a ball game, drank coffee, ate cake and before I knew it, it was time to leave.
I love my family and only see them two weekends a year, so when I'm there, there's a lot of catching up to do.  I came home with a sore throat, and I think it was more from talking than from being outside. 

The only fiber stuff I can show today is this cardinal colored homespun 3-ply wool hank.  

This hank is all one color, but I have blended some of  this wool with some un-dyed wool to make a variegated yarn. I'm spinning it currently and will post it next time!

Blues Traveler

I'm headed to the Gulf Coast this weekend for a visit with my family.  I'll be putting some blue yarn and needles in my suitcase, along with a fantasy of sitting in the porch swing of my parents house, looking out on the water and knitting my blues away. Actually it's supposed to be pretty chilly there this weekend and I imagine any knitting will be done indoors while looking out the window or in the car on the way. (Its a girls' trip with my daughter and daughter in law!)  Either way, I'm taking this little treasure with me - another try at the cardigan.

I've switched patterns in an effort to find a better match for my gauge.  This time I'm using bulky yarn on size 9 needle.

I've been looking for this pattern since I decided to make a cardigan sweater as a New Year's resolution.  The other day I walked into the garage near my stash and saw a magazine laying right in front of everything.  There it was, the very issue I'd been looking for over the last several weeks.

I would have sworn the pattern was in Interweave Knits, but I was wrong. It was this one-time issue of Knit It (2002) from BHG.

Immediately I grabbed the yarn called for in the instructions and the needle recommended and lo & behold, gauge perfection!  Woo hooo! (me taking off my cowboy hat and swirling it above my head)

I'm going full speed ahead this time around.  I am giving myself a year to do this project (can't fail, right?) but I keep getting discouraged with so many failed attempts.  So if I do it real fast, I might jump over some of those hurdles, like the scene from Speed where the bus jumps over the unfinished overpass. 

Now in the area of books, I finished a novel by Patricia Falvey and have made good progress with one by Jed Rubenfeld.  I put down a book by Catherine Coulter that was an FBI thriller - no go. But I really like The Death Instinct, the one I'm taking on my trip.  Its based on actual events and isn't rated-R like some books.  The pacing is good and very interesting to me, keeping my attention even while on the treadmill which is saying something for me.  Only I have to keep a clothespin nearby when I'm walking to keep the book open!

On my way

Yesterday I had a little visitor - a young knitter who came over in hopes of taking her knitting to another level.  What a privilege it was for me to not only show her a few new things, but to watch her expressions as she "discovered" things she never realized.  Like how the ribbing on your sweater cuff is knit1, purl1. Or how the flat side of knitting is the side your knit and the bumpy side of knitting (stockinette stitch) is the side you purl - cause it looks like pearls.  She lit up when she not only began to knit on circular needles easily, but small circs were even easier.  What a treat for a veteran like me - she's like an intern in my school of knitting, a real natural!

coaster my little friend crocheted for me! plus grape jelly~

I also had a fun time today checking out the local art museum which had two very interesting exhibits, one of which ends tomorrow.  That one is an Egyptian collection including a real live(dead) mummy and a sarcophagus with incredibly intricate painting on it.  There were reliefs and artifacts as well.  Just realized today how obsessed the Egyptians and possibly Greeks and surrounding peoples were with the afterlife.

My favorite thing today was the collection of European masterpieces some of which were breathtaking. You may be more familiar with Vermeer's The Girl with the Pearl Earring, from a later period.  This exhibit was much more obsessed with the birth and death of Christ, a personal obsession for me!

Now for some good knitting news.  I have been working with this lovely indigo looking blue which is definitely sport weight.  This sample swatch is exactly 14 wraps per inch, making it a perfect sport weight yarn.

And how about this red??  It is going to make something stunning!

I melted down a bunch of bits and pieces of candles and poured them into several little glass jars I had around the house.  The wicks came from Hobby Lobby.

I also mixed in some pieces of old Yankee Candle tarts that had lost most of their scent.  Put them all together by color family and they turned out pretty cute!

So what's your point?

Having made another valiant attempt at the cardigan sweater, I still have not achieved the gauge goal that I need.  The cuff ribbing was cast on and knit with size 2's and the arm was attempted with size 4's.

Silver size 2 circulars

Green size 4 circulars

Somehow the gauge is just way off, probably because this yarn has got to be worsted weight and not sport weight.  I don't have a WPI (wraps per inch) gauge to determine my thread thickness, but it's abundantly clear that once I start knitting, the sleeves begin to billow like sails on a pirate ship.  A little fullness is fine, but I'm getting way more than I need and that will surely mean I'll run out of yarn too soon.

So you know what that means don't you?  I know - its hard to accept, but I'm gonna have to ditch this yarn and find something finer.  Yarn comes in lots of thicknesses.  Usually you begin with laceweight or fingering weight, then sock, sport, DK, worsted, chunky and bulky.  To try to substitute is just fooling yourself, because in the end, it will be clear that the yarn you've chosen is too fat or thin.
Knitting is such therapy for me, I don't know what I'd do without it.  I do love spinning too, and that's a close second on the therapy-scale.
Here's some lovely white silk I've been spinning.

It can be very difficult to spin if your hands are dry so I've got some serious hand cream nearby, to keep things moving.  It gets like you're handling cobwebs, and can be frustrating if you don't know how to handle the stuff.  But some good cream or even a touch of Vaseline will do the trick. 

Okay, I will end this post with a few of my resolutions, beginning with the most obvious/common one relating to exercise.
1. I have upped my daily walking goal by one mile and upped my speed as well.  I've also cut way back on the carbs in the last month or two and have lost a little over 5 lbs.  I'm not out to lose a lot of weight, but I need to tone and keep things in check.
2. Another goal is to buy fewer books and read existing ones, either from the public library, my home library, or free kindle books.  I'm really trying to economize and be more green in my choices.
3. I have high hopes to keep a real, true vegetable garden this year, in my own back yard.  I've already started prepping a spot, and have moved the compost bin, having emptied its contents on the new site.
4. I am trying to be more selective in the things I say yes to, and in particular, allowing more "me" time throughout the week.
5. And another goal that's worth typing about is that I want to take advantage of more local culture.  You've heard people talk about buying local, so this is my version.  I have made plans to go to a museum (free to me because of my bank perks) this Saturday, one which I've never been to and I've lived here for 10 years!  There are more goals and resolutions, but that should do for now.  I have actually started most of them weeks ago, to tweak exactly what I could reasonably attain.  I think I'm in good shape.